Colorado Abduction (11 page)

Hoping to engage their sympathies, she’d told several
stories about Nicole. The only one who responded was the pregnant woman, Sunny.

The other two women, Sharon and Lisa, became even more sullen. At one point, Lisa sat at the table with her hands folded neatly and stared, unmoving, for a solid thirty seconds. When Carolyn asked if she was okay, Sharon informed her that Lisa was praying. Drugged was more like it.

Carolyn set down her potato peeler on the countertop and wiped her hands on the hem of the apron, being careful not to touch the prior stains. “I’m finished.”

“Me, too,” Sunny said. “Gather up your peelings in that rubber tub and we’ll take it all out to the compost heap. Is that okay, Sharon?”

The blond woman nodded. Slowly.

Outside the back door, Carolyn walked beside Sunny toward a fenced-off area that would be a vegetable garden in the springtime.

“You have to help me.” Sunny paused for a moment and scribbled on a scrap of paper with a pencil stub. “Please.”

“Yes, whatever you need.”

“Don’t let them see you talking to me. Keep smiling.”

Carolyn tossed her head and smiled, trying her best to look utterly mindless. “What’s up?”

“I’ve got to get out of here before my baby is born.”

“They won’t let you leave?” Carolyn asked.

“I know too much. Can’t explain now.” She dumped her peelings onto a stinking compost pile, stood up straight and rested her hand on her huge belly. “Lisa’s sister didn’t disappear. She didn’t leave. They killed her.”

Dear God, this place is a nightmare
. “What about Nicole?”

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about her.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Here comes Logan. Pretend like you’re shaking my hand.”

Carolyn did as she asked. With a huge smile, Sunny whispered, “Meet me at midnight tonight.”

Carolyn pocketed the scrap of paper Sunny had passed to her. “Always glad to help.”

The most dangerous aspect of any incursion into hostile territory was the exit strategy. As Burke watched Carolyn saunter toward him and Logan, he hoped she wouldn’t do anything to provoke retaliation. They needed to get the hell away from the Circle M.

Through his sunglasses, he noted the positions taken by three of the men he’d met. All were scanning the skies for the chopper. All were armed, and these weren’t the type of rifles used by casual sportsmen. The Sons of Freedom had broken out the automatic assault weapons and sniper rifles. Evidence of this brand of firepower combined with the stockpile of propane tanks made the SOF an extremely volatile enemy—a fact that didn’t seem to concern Carolyn in the least.

Without breaking stride, she unfastened the strings of her apron and peeled it off. She slapped the fabric against Logan’s chest. “Thanks for your hospitality.”

“It’s good for you to work in a kitchen for once.” He signaled to one of his men, who responded quickly. “Escort our guests to the front gate.”

Burke made an attempt to keep the tenuous line of communication open. “I appreciate your cooperation.” He held
out his hand for a friendly shake. “This is an impressive operation.”

Logan turned his back and walked away. Over his shoulder, he said, “Get the hell out.”

Carolyn called after him, “Hey, Sam.”

It was the first time she’d used his given name, which Burke thought was an effective use of a negotiating tool. Carolyn was sharp. In one word, she’d reminded him of their prior relationship.

He faced them. “What is it, Carolyn?”

“There’s no call to be rude. The pioneers had a tradition of Western hospitality. When someone offers the hand of friendship, it’s not right to turn away.”

With his men watching, he couldn’t be churlish. He grasped Burke’s hand. In a low voice, he said, “We’re not friends.”

Logan turned to Carolyn with hand extended. When she placed her hand in his, he pulled her close. “You hurt me once, honey. This time, it’s my turn.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Not if you stay out of my way.”

As he and Carolyn walked up the road to the gate, Burke held his silence. Earlier he’d counseled Carolyn about containing her outrage. Now he had to apply those same restrictions to himself.
It won’t do any good to explode
. He was smarter than that, better than that.

But Logan’s smarmy attitude ticked him off. That blond son of a bitch with the perfect features was nothing more than a cowboy con man, hiding behind phony rhetoric about the noble American pioneers.

When Burke slid into the passenger seat of the truck, he immediately opened the glove compartment and retrieved his gun. The weight of it felt good in his hand.

“Your ex-boyfriend is one of the coldest, most calculating
liars I’ve ever met, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve dealt with terrorists and serial killers. Sam Logan disgusts me more.”

“More than a serial killer?” Carolyn started the truck.

“Logan isn’t crazy. He knows the difference between right and wrong. And he consciously chooses wrong.”

She wheeled around in a U-turn and drove away from the Circle M. “What happens next?”

“When we get back to the ranch house, all hell is going to be breaking loose.” Burke holstered his gun. “I’ll need to coordinate choppers and dogs and a half-baked patrol of cowboys with rifles. Not to mention keeping everything quiet so the traitor can’t report our every move to Logan.”

“You’re sure that Logan is the kidnapper?”

“Not a hundred percent.” Logan’s alibi was the SOF. They could all stand in a circle and swear that they were all together at the time of the kidnapping. Which didn’t necessarily mean they were lying. “I’m certain he’s engaged in some kind of criminal activity. Maybe he’s got a meth lab hidden in one of the outbuildings. Maybe he’s doing some kind of smuggling.”

“His men were carrying some pretty fancy weapons. He could be trafficking in guns.”

“Could be.” As Burke started his left brain thinking, his anger faded. “In any case, he’s using the SOF as a cover for himself and his sorry gang of outlaws.”

“And the women?”

“He never lets them get involved in business, right?”

“Right,” she said.

“I doubt they know what’s going on. The women and children are, basically, hostages. Logan is using them as a human shield. The FBI can’t come after him with guns blazing while there’s a danger to innocent women and children.”

Though they were still a mile away from the Carlisle
Ranch, she pulled over to the side of the road and parked. “I need to talk to you about the women. I got the impression that some of them might be on drugs.”

“Logan told me that some of the women came from the street, which I assume means they were either hookers or runaways.” The thought of Logan approaching some poor soul down on her luck and luring her to his ranch revved up Burke’s temper again. “He said they were lucky to have a roof over their heads.”

“Not lucky at all,” Carolyn said. “One of them was murdered.”

He hadn’t expected this bombshell. “Murdered?”

“One of them talked to me. Her name is Sunny. Can’t be more than twenty years old, and she’s pregnant. She wants to get away from the Circle M.” She dug into her jeans pocket and took out a scrap of paper. “She wants me to meet her at this location. Tonight. At midnight.”

He read the scribbled words on the scrap. “West field. By the pines.”

“She mentioned a name, Pete Richter. Maybe she was trying to tell me he’s the killer.”

He recognized the name. “Logan said that Richter and Thurgood weren’t at the ranch. They could have taken Nicole somewhere else. Or they could be guarding her in one of those outbuildings.”

“We need to get back in there,” she said. “We need to search.”

Easier said than done. Following the legal parameters for a search with a warrant was out of the question. And Logan would never give up without a fight.

The only way Burke could search for Nicole was to send in an assault team. And risk the lives of the women and children at the Circle M? Even if it meant rescuing Nicole, he couldn’t put others in danger.

A
S BURKE HAD EXPECTED
, the pastoral setting of the Carlisle ranch house had erupted into chaos. Polly was trying to serve lunch. The ranch hands with their walkie-talkies were still patrolling. An FBI team with bloodhounds and cadaver dogs had arrived. And the chopper pilot stood waiting for instruction.

Burke’s first order of business was to delegate. He put Agent Silverman in charge of coordinating these various operations.

Neville and the cowboy protection patrol would keep up their surveillance with one major difference: they had to move out of Dylan’s office and into the bunkhouse. As soon as they left, grumbling with every step, the noise level in the house returned to something near normal.

While Silverman prepared to deploy the chopper and the dogs with grid maps of the area, Burke took Carolyn and her brother back to her bedroom sanctuary. In the relative quiet, he filled Dylan in on what they’d discovered at Logan’s compound.

Dylan turned to his sister. “What did you ever see in that jerk?”

“You liked him,” she reminded. “Both you and dad were ready to march me down the aisle to marry him.”

“Because I didn’t want to see you move to New York and turn into a corporate witch.”

“Like Mom?”

He exhaled in a whoosh. “Let’s not paw through that old garbage, okay?”

“Have you called her? Told her about Nicole?”

Burke stepped in before their conversation deteriorated into what appeared to be an old family argument. “Dylan, I want you to work with Silverman to coordinate the search efforts. The FBI teams need backup from your men who know the territory. You should make those assignments.”

“Got it,” he said.

“Keep in mind that we’ve got a traitor in our midst. Don’t tell any of your men about obtaining the ransom or our suspicions about the Circle M.”

“What about the ransom?” he asked. “That money is going to get here any minute. How are we going to pick it up and still keep it a secret?”

“I’ve got it covered,” Burke said. “It’s better that you don’t know the details.”

Identical pairs of green eyes stared at him in disbelief.

“A million dollars in cash,” Carolyn said. “
Our cash.
We need to know.”

Clearly, she had a point. Burke quickly explained, “The ransom is being flown to Delta. We already have two Long-bridge Security guards at the hospital watching over the man who was shot, and I figured—”

“How is he doing?” Carolyn interrupted. “Jesse Long-bridge? Is he conscious?”

“Not yet. Technically, he’s not in a coma because he’s responsive to external stimuli. But he’s still not awake.” Which was unfortunate on many levels. If Jesse woke up and could give them an identification, they’d at least know who they were looking for. He continued, “Those two guards are picking up the ransom and keeping an eye on it.”

Carolyn and Dylan exchanged a glance. Both nodded.

“I trust Longbridge Security,” Dylan said. He headed toward the bedroom door. With his hand on the knob, he paused. “I didn’t mean to snap at you, Carolyn.”

“Same here.”

When the door closed behind him a hush descended.

The atmosphere in her bedroom, though quiet, was charged with suppressed emotion. She’d perched on the edge of the bed. Her hair was out of the ponytail, tumbling loose to her shoulders. She tilted her head back and stretched,
arching her throat. “Dylan never forgave Mom for leaving the ranch. He couldn’t see how stifled she was. The ranching life isn’t for everybody.”

“Is it for you?”

“I have the best of both worlds. In Denver, I’m Corporate Sally. Out here? Annie Oakley.”

He sat beside her on the bed—a move he might regret. Developing a relationship with the victim’s family in a hostage situation was nearly inevitable, but empathy didn’t include the kind of passionate kiss they’d shared in the truck. He’d already gone too far with her.

When she looked up at him with those intriguing green eyes, his discipline and training ebbed. He wanted to make love to this woman. When she reached up to stroke his cheek, he caught her hand.

“We can’t do this,” he said. Yet he didn’t release her hand.

“Which part of me scares you the most?” she asked. “The businesswoman or the rancher?”

“Well, let’s see. The CEO might drive me to ruin. But Annie Oakley might fire a blast of buckshot into my ass.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. “I’m not scared, Carolyn. Are you?”

“Not a bit.”

In any other situation, making love would be the next natural step. He was drawn to her. The magnetism was palpable, so strong that he began to sweat. He forced himself to stand, still holding her hand. “We have a lot to do.”

He pulled her to her feet and into his embrace. Just one kiss, he told himself. One more kiss wouldn’t hurt.

But she stepped back. “I don’t like unfinished business, Burke. Once I start on a project, I close the deal.”

“Meaning?”

“I want more from you than just one kiss.”

And he’d be happy to deliver.
The whole enchilada, baby
. “I suggest we continue this negotiation at a later time.”

“Suits me.”

When she left the bedroom, he followed. He had about a hundred things to do, but his focus at that moment was simple. He couldn’t take his eyes off her long legs and round bottom in her snug jeans. Denim had never looked so good.

A
FTER CAROLYN REALIZED
there was nothing useful she could do in the house, she stepped outside to take a breather. Her path led, predictably, to the corral outside the barn where she climbed onto the fence railing and gave a low whistle.

Elvis approached, swinging his hips. At the fence, he leaned his neck toward her, welcoming a hug.

Mindful that someone might be listening, she kept her voice low. “Here’s my problem, Elvis. Burke is just about the sexiest man I’ve ever seen in my whole life. He makes me want to drag him into the hayloft and make love.”

Elvis nodded.

“It’s totally inappropriate.”

Not to mention heartless. How could she be fantasizing about lovemaking while Nicole was being held captive and her brother was going through hell? A chill took root in her heart—a dark cold that had nothing to do with the December weather.

In the proof-of-life photo, Nicole appeared to be uninjured. Was she tied up? Chained? Were they holding her in a dark cell? “Oh God, Elvis. What am I going to do?”

He shook his head, and his black mane flopped over the white blaze on his forehead. Just like a real shrink, Elvis always turned the question back to her. Rightly so. The answers were usually within her.

But this time there was very little Carolyn could do. She’d
arranged for the ransom to be delivered, and she’d made contact with Sunny, who might be the key to getting inside Logan’s compound. Other than that, she was helpless.

And what am I going to do about Burke?
Clearly, her attraction to him was a way of distracting her from terrible thoughts about the kidnapping. If fear was cold, the way she felt about Burke was a bonfire.

“It’s not like I want a relationship,” she confided to Elvis. Though she and Burke both worked in Denver and could certainly see each other again, she didn’t expect anything long term. They were both too demanding, too competitive.

All she really needed from Burke was an uncomplicated moment of passion. After that, they’d go their separate ways.

Lucas came toward her. “Hey, Carolyn. Talking to that fat, old horse again?”

“Don’t listen to him, Elvis. You’re still a hunka hunka burning love.”

He leaned against the fence beside her. When his jacket brushed aside, she saw that he was carrying his new Glock in a hip holster. He was holding an evergreen wreath in his gloved hand.

“What are you doing with the wreath?” she asked.

“I thought I might tie a red ribbon around it and hang it over the gatepost out front.”

Celebrating Christmas was the last thing on her mind. Still, she said, “Good idea. Nicole loves Christmas decorations. When she comes home, she’ll be happy to see that wreath.”